


Threat

by hakaishin



Series: Kakavege fics [2]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Goku is the same as always, Hyperbolic Time Chamber, M/M, Running away from a way-too-happy wife, Vegeta acting OOC, mentions of planet vegeta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-10-04 05:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20465486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakaishin/pseuds/hakaishin
Summary: Goku has been having doubts about his feelings towards his wife for quite some time. When he discovers that Chi-Chi might be pregnant with their third child, he does what he knows best: run away. His plans to take so time to think about this unexpected news are disrupted when he ends up spending two years with a unusually talkative Saiyan Prince.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so this is my first fic in over four years! English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for my terrible grammar. I hope you'll enjoy it, don't hesitate to leave comments and tell me what you think about it, what could be better or what you'd like to see happening in this fic!
> 
> The story takes place four years after the Buu Saga.

He was late. Again.

“Man, Chi-Chi is gonna kill me’’, he said while he was flying back towards his house on Mount Paozu.

His wife had sent him grocery shopping in the morning, specifying that he had to be back on time for dinner. Chi-Chi had mentioned something about a good news she wanted to share with him. As always, he had promised that he would make it back on time, and as always, he had broken his promise. He really had meant to go shopping and come back home right away for once, but as he wandered in the sky heading towards the city, he noticed a clearing he had never seen before. _That'd make a great training spot!_, he had thought. He had then landed on his feet and had begun throwing some punches in the air. And there he was, flying at full-speed in the pitch-black sky, his clothes partially destroyed and filthy. He was over three hours late and wasn't even coming back with groceries. She definitely was going to kill him.

When he arrived in front of his house, he tried to land as silently as possible. He hoped that Chi-Chi would already be asleep so he would have time to think about a good excuse during the night. Obviously, he did not have such chance. As he snuck a peek through the dining room's window, he saw his wife and sons sitting around the table laughing over something. At least, she seemed to be in a good mood, something that had become quite rare with Chi-Chi in the past years. She would always complain about the fact that he did not have a job, that he was unpredictable, always running away to some place to train, leaving her alone without money to take care of their sons.

He sighed before opening the door. As soon as he stepped inside the dining room, he closed his eyes, preparing himself for his wife's wrath. But it never came.

“Hey, honey! We were waiting for you!’’. He opened his eyes and looked at Chi-Chi, she was smiling at him from across the table. “Come, sit down, I'll go get dinner’’. He said before standing up and going to the kitchen.

_This is weird_, he thought, stunned. She did not mention his terrible look, nor the fact that we was late once again and came back empty handed. Hell, she didn't even look mad.

“What's going on with her?’’, Goku whispered to the boys with wide eyes.

“I don't know, she was in a really good mood all day. She wasn't even angry I didn't do my homework.’’ Goten said still in owe at his mother's reaction. Usually she would shout and sermon him about how important it was that he studied hard so he could go to university and have a job to support his family. But today, she had brushed it off. She had smiled and told him it was okay. Worse than that, she had not asked him to do it right away and offered him to play a board game instead.

“Goten's right, dad. I don't think I have ever seen her like that.’’ The older of the two brothers said. ‘‘Did you do something to make her this happy?’’.

“No! Look at me, I'm a mess. I stopped on my way to the city to train and completely forgot about shopping...’’

At that moment, Chi-Chi re-entered the room with a trail of food. “There you go, boys! Enjoy!’’.

The atmosphere was really bizarre throughout dinner. Chi-Chi did not stop smiling, asking her sons questions about school, their friends, even about training. Goku kept looking at her with wide eyes, trying to understand what was going on with his usually constantly angry wife. Then, something came to his mind: she had told him about a great news she wanted to share with them. Maybe that's the reason she was acting this way? But what sort of news could have made her _this_ happy? He frowned, trying to come up with possibilities, comparing it with other times she had been this cheerful before. All these memories were from a long time ago: when they were kids and he had agreed to marry her, their actual wedding, when they had moved into their house on Mount Paozu, when she had learnt about her first pregnancy... All this was from more than twenty years ago, since then she had changed. A lot. She had become a completely different person. A mom, over-protecting her sons, only caring about their education, the fact that they would get a real job. _Not like their useless father_, Goku thought. She was always irritated and cold. Their relationship had been different since he had died for the first time, like something had been broken between them when he had left for Otherworld. They were not as happy as before. The sensations Goku had felt at the beginning of their marriage, when they got to know each other, these palpitations, this overwhelming happiness, had not been here in such a long time. These days, they only rarely shared intimacy and every time it felt more like something they had to do because they were married than something they really wanted to do. Now that Goku thought about it, sex had never actually been great between them. He often had talked about it with Roshi, Krillin and Yamcha when they were younger, and the three other men had always described it as something that was supposed to feel amazing, something you could never get enough of, a need that came directly from your guts when you saw the other person. But for Goku... it was not something he _hated_, it was good, kinda, but he would rather be training than lay in bed with his wife.

Bulma had once asked him during one of their talks if he was still in love with Chi-Chi. Goku had immediately answered that of course he was still in love with her. But then he started thinking. He did not really know what love was. Sure, he loved his sons, and his friends, and ramen, but he knew it was not was Bulma meant by it. He'd never really understood what love exactly was. Bulma had explained to him what it was, when he was still a kid and she was desperate to find a boyfriend. Yet, he had difficulties to grasp the concept and the implications lying behind it. He only had had one woman in his life, and he had only married her because of a promise he had felt he had to fulfill. He really thought he had loved her at some point, he had felt all these sensations Bulma had said some things were linked to love: the light-heartedness, the happiness, the need to be close to one another, the mutual caring. But all this was long gone or had never been there in the first place. So maybe, he was not in love with her anymore, maybe he had never been, but either way he would never leave her. She had done some much for him over the twenty years they had been together. She had given him two great sons, that he loved very much. She had taken care of him, cooked for him every night of everyday. He sure cared about her, even only as a friend, he could never leave her. Yeah, he would stay with her forever even though he was not in love with her. He could not tell her this, that he did not love her, he knew it would destroy her, and he could never do this to Chi-Chi.

The joyful mood had stayed all along the evening. Goku had enjoyed it. It was particularly pleasant to have dinner without yelling. After, the boys had gone to bed, Chi-Chi stood behind him while he was still seated on the couch, putting her frail arms around his shoulders . Goku was still lost in his thoughts when he felt her caressing lovingly his biceps. He looked over at her, she was smiling lightly.

“Hey, go take a shower and come to bed. I have to tell you something, I think it will make you very happy’’, she told him before kissing the back of his head and walking towards their bedroom.

He did as told and went to take a shower. He kept thinking about what “great news’’ Chi-Chi could have for him while washing away the sweat and the dirt from his day of training. While putting on his pajamas he threw the towel he had used for his hair over to the laundry basket, but missed. When he bent down to pick it up, he noticed something weird laying at the bottom of the bin. It looked like a small technological device with a screen. He picked it up, looked at it and frowned. He was sure he had seen it before. Was it one of Bulma's creation? No, it couldn't, there was no CC logo on it. Then, what was it? Suddenly, an old memory came to his mind.

_He was lying down at the bottom of tree on Mount Paozu. He had just finished a very successful training and has recovering from it, dosing off in the fresh breeze. Suddenly, he heard a voice calling his name from afar. It was Chi-Chi, running towards him a huge grin on her face. She was still so young, her eyes sparkling with happiness. He stood up and she went crashing into his arms._

_“Goku...’’, she whispered, nuzzling against his neck._

_When she pulled away from him, she put a small electronic device in front of his eyes. He was sure he never had seen such thing before._

_“Look Goku!’’, He looked at her, puzzled, not quite understanding what it all meant._

_“I don't really know what I'm looking at Chi-Chi...’’_

_‘‘I'm pregnant, silly! You are going to be a dad!’’_

A pregnancy test that's what it was! But why on Earth... _Oh!_ Everything made sense suddenly. Her happiness, the great news she had wanted to share with him...

_Another child?_ Goku was not quite sure that's what he wanted. He already had _two_ children! And even though he loved them both to bits, he knew he was not a really great dad. Having been dead for most part of his sons's lives and having been off training for the great majority of the remaining time. Even with Gohan when he was a small kid, he had not really been there, and when he was, he did really know what to do with him. How could they have another baby now?! Kami, they were old enough to be grand-parents! And Chi-Chi... she was aging way faster than he was. He had noticed a growing number of grey hair on her scalp, her skin wasn't has smooth as it used to; she was weaker too.

He needed more time to think about it. How would he react when Chi-Chi would tell him as soon as he got out of the bathroom. Yeah, he definitely need more time... Several months, even years to think about it... But Chi-Chi was waiting for him now, and if he ran away for years, he would once again miss the birth of one of his children. He needed to gain some time but how? He needed years when he only had minutes, how could he...? _The hyperbolic time chamber!_ Goku thought. Yeah, he could go spend some time in it to think about it, and he would only have been gone a few days in reality. That was a great plan. But he did not want to go alone. Maybe he could ask Bulma to come with him. He and Bulma usually talked about that kind of stuff, they had great chats about serious subjects. Bulma understood relationships way better than Goku did and she provided great advice. He even helped her in her relationship with Vegeta sometimes. Vegeta... Maybe he could go with him. They would train and spar, it always helped him think, helped clear his mind. Vegeta was a wise man, at least in Goku's opinion. He might be able to help him with his problem too... Yeah, Vegeta was a great option. Not dwelling too much on this, he instant transmissioned to Vegeta right away, placing two fingers on his forehead.

He arrived in the middle of Bulma and Vegeta's bedroom, They were both lying in bed, Vegeta seemingly asleep on his side, while Bulma was reading a book. She jumped when she saw him and let her book fall to the floor, making a loud sound against the wooden boards. The noise awoke Vegeta.

“Goku?! What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?!’’. His blue-haired friend was furious glaring at him.

“Hum...’’ He did not have time to answer before Vegeta talked with a groggy voice.

“Get out, Kakarot!“, the prince growled, not even looking in his direction.

“But Vegeta...’’

“I said get out!’’, the other Saiyan said while getting up to chase him away. Goku had to think of something real quick or he was gonna get kicked out.

“Vegeta, listen! There is this super powerful enemy that is coming to destroy the Earth!’’

“What the hell are you babbling about? How do you know this guy is coming?’’, it seemed Goku had managed to catch the smaller Saiyan's attention.

“Well...’’ Come on, Goku, think! “Oh! Yeah, hum, King Kai told me. He had this vision. Yeah, it an alien, he is really strong and he wants to destroy the Earth! King Kai said he was stronger than Majin Buu, but that we could defeat him if we trained in the hyperbolic time chamber!’’

The prince seemed to be thinking about it. Well, it seemed like Goku's lying abilities had gotten better. “Do you know when he will be here?“ Vegeta asked him, concerned.

“Hum... in two days!’’

“Two days... Well, it leaves us two years of training. Do you think it is enough to be able to defeat that guy? Should we talk to the others?’’

“No!’’ Goku shouted, before continuing more calmly. “I mean, no, we don't tell the others, I don't want them to be in danger, King Kai seems to think we both can manage that guy with a bit of training. It should be fine. But we should leave right now, I'll explain you more once we're inside.’’

Goku extended his hand towards the prince “Take my hand. I will IT us to the lookout‘‘.

When Vegeta put his hand on Goku's shoulder, once again refusing to hold hands with this idiot, Bulma stood up and looked at him angrily.

“Don't you dare, Vegeta! You promised our son you would come see his play at school tomorrow. He got really excited about this! Trunks would be so disappointed if you did not show up!“, the threatened him with her forefinger.

“Woman! This is way more important than some stupid child's play! Trunks has to understand this. Let's go, Kakarot’’

“Vegeta!’’, she shouted when they both disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 08/31/2019


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here is chapter two! I hope you'll like it!

“Kakarot, could you please tell me about that mysterious enemy?!”, Vegeta said, annoyed, after they had settled inside of the Chamber. Goku had taken as much time as possible to choose his bed, then make it, trying to see if he could find some food and Senzu beans. He was trying to come up with a decent story to share with the Prince about the new foe they were supposed to be facing in a couple of Earth days.

“Yeah, well, King Kai didn't tell me a lot about him. Just that he was really powerful, more powerful than you or me. I just know he will be here in two days, and that we still have time to catch up with his power level if we train really hard during these two years in the chamber.”

“Didn't he tell you why he would choose to come to Earth in the first place? What is he seeking here? And are we sure he really wants to hurt anyone?”

“Well...” He considered it for a few seconds. _Come Goku, think of something. _“He probably is looking for more power, like every other foe we have encountered before Vegeta, like you when you came down to Earth in the first place, like Frieza, like Cell, like Babidi. There seems to be a recurring pattern here. That guy probably heard about the Dragon Balls or about us and think he can defeat us and wish for immortality or something of the kind to the Dragon.”

“You're probably right.” Vegeta sighed. “I guess we better start training soon if we want to be able to beat that guy.“

So they started their training. They trained from dawn till dusk, preparing for the battle against this imaginary foe. They alternated between spars and all-out fights, pushing each other to get better, trying to break through their ceilings, pushing each other to the limit.

Goku had missed this feeling. The adrenaline rushing through his veins while fighting, the sensation of his muscles burning under his skin, the taste his own blood on his tongue. Times of peace were good, they meant that his family and his friends were safe and living happily without having to ask themselves if they would still be alive the next day. But for Goku, times of peace were frustrating. He never got to fight properly; he usually trained on his own, when Chi-Chi allowed him to do so or when he managed to escape from her for a few hours. But it was not the same thing. He lived for the sensations that rushed through his body when he fought against Vegeta. In these moments he felt alive and complete, like he had everything he needed in the world. In fact, he believed they both lived for this, judging by Vegeta's grin when they sparred.

Goku felt so good that he actually forgot that no-one was coming for them. He trained as if this enemy really existed, that he had two years to become even stronger to defeat him and protect his loved-ones and the entire population of planet Earth. He forgot that the real reason he was here was that he was running away from his pregnant wife, that he had left her behind without even telling her he would be gone for the next couple of days. He was supposed to be in the chamber to think about his situation, to find a suitable reaction when Chi-Chi would tell him about the baby they would be having, to reflect on his relationship with his wife, a wife that he thought he did not love anymore. All these preoccupations went away as soon as he had started his training, but it was okay, he had two years to figure something out.

°°°

When Goku woke up one morning, Vegeta was still on his bed, meditating. His training partner looked at him confused. In the months they had spent in the hyperbolic time chamber a sort of routine had formed between them. Vegeta always woke up a few hours before Goku did and he would start his training right away, waiting for the other Saiyan to wake up. Once Goku was awake, he would go get Vegeta, that had already started training on his own, and they would eat breakfast together in silence or talking about their training of the day. They would spend the rest of the day sparring only stopping to eat and when they felt too tired to keep on fighting.

Goku looked at the prince. He seemed deep into his thoughts, eyes opened but not looking at anything, a rare emotion on his face, it seemed like he was in pain. Not physical pain, no, something much deeper, much worse. Goku was not good at placing words on emotions, but the one the prince was displaying at that moment made him sick in the stomach. It was weird seeing the usually reserved man showing any emotion other than anger, especially an emotion akin to weakness, or rather what the Prince thought as weakness. Goku wasn't sure if Vegeta was even aware of his presence, if he was he did not acknowledge the younger Saiyan. Goku knew how easy it was to hurt his training partner's pride, and he was pretty sure that asking Vegeta if he was feeling okay would upset him even more. He thus decided to leave the Prince alone for a few more minutes while he prepared breakfast for the both of them.

When he came back to their shared bedroom, Vegeta was still in the same position, but he had closed his eyes. His brows were furrowed and his lips pressed together. This was a usual look for Vegeta but, even though Goku could not pinpoint what exactly, something was different that day.

“Hey, Geta.” Goku said with the softest voice possible. The Prince opened his eyes. The younger Saiyan of the two was shocked by what he saw in them: hurt and sorrow, things Goku had never seen in those dark eyes, even when Vegeta's family had been hurt. What could have happened to him overnight to make the proud prince so... _sad_? Yeah this was it, that emotion he had been unable to name before was sadness. No, actually it was even beyond sadness, it was _grief_. To Goku, it appeared as if the Vegeta he knew and had learnt to appreciate had been replaced by a more fragile, more broken version, and he decided that he did not like that version at all. “Come, I made breakfast.”

“Thanks Kakarot.” Vegeta said with a hoarse voice. “But I won't be eating today.”

Goku frowned. Something was most definitely wrong with his friend. Vegeta loved eating just like he did himself, he assumed it was a Saiyan trait as his sons also had great appetites.

“Are you alright Vegeta?” He asked hesitantly, tiptoeing not to completely shut him down.

“Yeah, don't worry about me.” He got up. “Kakarot, do you mind if we take a break from our training for the day?” He said and without waiting for an answer started walking towards the infinite nothingness of the chamber.

Goku did not move as he lost sight of the other Saiyan. He wondered if he had done something to put the prince into that state. But Vegeta had not seemed mad at him, in fact he even had been unusually nice to him in the few words he had said before walking away. If it wasn't his fault what was it? Why the sudden change? He had been just fine the day before. Goku sighed.

The reason of Vegeta's dramatic change of behavior kept bothering him while he sat alone at the table, picking at his food, not really hungry anymore. He had tried to train all morning. Tried was the key word here. Indeed, he had not managed to focus on his technique, his mind constantly wondering what could have happened to Vegeta to disturb him that much. He had kept his attention on his partner's ki; he had not gone too far away and his energy was stable, it had not spike even once, as if the only thing the Prince had done that morning was sitting around, meditating.

After lunch, Goku concluded that he had done enough thinking for the day. If he could not figure this situation out on his own, then the only way was to ask Vegeta directly, even if it ended up with him getting beaten up by the older Saiyan. So, he decided to go look out for him and try and have a talk with him.

He saw him for afar, sitting in the middle of the boundless void, cross-legged, indeed meditating. Goku approached slowly even tough he knew Vegeta was able to sense his presence. As Vegeta didn't try to chase him away he sat by the prince's side carefully. He just stayed there in silence for Kami knows how long, just watching his friend's tormented expression. After what felt like hours Vegeta opened his eyes and looked straight into his.

“You know what day it is today Kakarot?” Vegeta said in a murmur. Goku shook his head.

“Well... It's the day our planet was destroyed.” Goku frowned. Had something happened to Earth? How did Vegeta know?

“Not Earth, Kakarot. Planet Vegeta, our home-world.” _Oh._ Vegeta cleared his throat. “I have this sort of ritual, something I do every year since I have learnt what Frieza did. I've never actually shared this with anyone but given the fact that you too are a Saiyan, I'll share it with you.“ He sighed, closing his eyes for a brief second before continuing. “On that day every year, I just isolate myself from everyone. I usually go deep into the forest, and hide my ki, to make sure no one would find me. I spend the entire day mediating, thinking about the few memories I have of the planet and about the stories Nappa and Raditz told me when we were on Frieza's ship. The rest of the year I try not to think about it, but on that day it's like... like Vegeta-sei is still here with its people, sparring happily under the red sky, our two suns high in the sky warming us up.” He paused again, looking deep into the other Saiyan's eyes.

“You've never actually told me about your... _our_ planet.” Goku looked at him in awe. “I never knew the sky was red there, or that there were two suns. I don't know anything about the planet or its people, its traditions, about my family...”

It kinda made him feel sad as well. He would never see the planet he was born on, would never encounter another member of the Saiyan race, never know if he would have liked life on his planet, never know what it feels like to be surrounded only by warriors, people that, just like him, live for fighting, for the chance to get stronger. He would ever get to know, really know, his family, never introduce his wife and children to them. And thus, even though he could only fathom Vegeta's feelings, he felt grief as well, grief for his dead race.

“Could you... maybe tell me more about it?”. He would never get to see his planet in person, yes, but he could imagine it, try and picture it in his head if Vegeta would like to share his memories with him. The Prince sighed, before smiling a little.

“It was beautiful, but a different kind of beautiful than Earth“ Vegeta closed his eyes again. “It was raw beauty, rocks and red sand everywhere. I remember it was always so hot, and they were no seasons like here on Earth, the weather was constantly the same, dry heat all the time. But if you went far away enough from the cities you had these big stretches of water, just like the oceans but with the freshwater of the rivers. My father took my brother Tarble and I to one for my last birthday before I got taken away by Frieza. I think he knew this was going to happen and wanted to spend time with me before it did. He had sent away all our aides the night before and he woke us up at dawn, telling us we had to be very quiet and that he had a surprise for us. So, we dressed up as third class warriors and weirdly enough nobody recognized us. He led us to this beautiful cove, hidden away. We played in the water the entire day and we laughed and we talked about my mother, which we never actually did since her death. It was the first time I spent time like this with my father. He usually was a very reserved, anger-driven man and we were not very close, we talked very little and when we did it was about my progression in training, or, as it most often was the case, the lack thereof. I think this is the only happy memory I have from my childhood”

A faint smile spread on his lips while he told his story, and Goku smiled as well. He never had seen this side of Vegeta, he hadn't even imagined existed before but he really liked it. Suddenly, Vegeta's smile dropped and he opened his eyes against, frowning. “I wished I had stopped Frieza back then, that I had defended my planet like the heir to the throne was supposed to“

“Vegeta, you were just a kid, there is nothing you could have done” He put a hand on the Prince's shoulder to try and comfort him.

“I could have at least tried... I didn't do anything. Hell, I didn't even know what was going on.” He sighed. “For so long, I believed a meteor had exterminated our people, that it was just bad luck, when in fact the monster I was working for had killed them all.” He paused. “I know you don't have any memory of our planet and that I'm probably the last person in this entire universe to have some.” He paused for a brief second. “When I was in HFIL, I thought about the fact that now all trace of Vegeta-sei is gone, that it is as if it never existed. And I don't want this. I don't want our planet to be erased completely, for the universe to forget how great of a race we were. That's why I'm sharing this with you, Kakarot. If I die again, I'll go back there, I'll loose my body again but you, you'll always be there even when you're dead, in Otherworld, and I want you to share these stories about our planet so that its memory doesn't disappear ever again.”

Vegeta stopped talking, and after a few minutes, when Goku was sure he would not add anything he said:

“I'm glad you shared this with me Vegeta. It means a lot.” He smiled at the Prince.

“You're welcome Kakarot”, he sighed. “Would you leave me alone for a bit now? I'd like to meditate some more. I'll join you later this evening”. He said before retaking his meditating stance and closing his eyes.

Goku nodded before getting up and walking towards the little house at the entrance of the time chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10/06/2019


End file.
